


Unlikely Lovers

by saladbabie



Series: Salad's Parkner Week 2020 [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Fluff, I'm late again, M/M, Math Kink, Not Beta Read, Stabbing, That's a joke, i wrote this like a million years ago, rated M because Peter gets knife poked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25686808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saladbabie/pseuds/saladbabie
Summary: Of course Harley would ask Peter to help him study, and he knew there was no way Peter could say no.Even if Peter knew he would spend the whole time watching the way Harley played with the sleeve of his jacket and listening to his voice that melted him like butter, Harley would be granting his attention to calculus, not Peter.Parkner Week 2020 Day 2: Identity Shenanigans
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Series: Salad's Parkner Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862653
Comments: 3
Kudos: 90
Collections: Parkner Week 2020





	Unlikely Lovers

Peter was surprised that anyone was talking to him in the first place, to be fair, but for that person to be Harley Keener was an entirely different story. Harley Keener, who really didn’t talk to anyone voluntarily, who wore the same leather jacket every day (Peter could tell by the small rip on the left cuff) (not that Peter was looking), Harley Keener who, honestly, Peter didn’t know how he got into advanced calculus all things considered. Harley Keener who Peter had an eensie teensie tiny crush on.

“Look, I know it’s in like a month, but I really need a study buddy for this final.” Harley grabbed at his left sleeve with his right hand, picking at the threads with his short fingernails. Peter blanched.

“Yeah, yes, of course. I mean, what do you want to go over?” He felt like his breath was absent, yet somehow his voice was breathy all the while.

“I just need some extra review on everything. Would you want to meet up like two or three times a week?” 

_ Of course _ , Peter wanted to meet up with  _ Harley Keener _ multiple times a week to talk about math. Peter had no idea what Harley was like outside of school, but he imagined motorcycles, cigarettes, and probably a really strong dog that barked at the neighbors.

“Great, can you make tonight? I know it’s short notice, but I’m kind of busy this week.”

“Yes!” Peter was possibly  _ too  _ enthusiastic, “Yeah, sure, that’s cool.” 

Harley decided to take Peter to his house after school, which was much more exciting than the idea of studying at the library, or an empty classroom, or anywhere else.

“A study date?” MJ quipped when Peter told her he’d have to miss acadeca. (Yes, he did forget he had practice, and yes, he was ashamed). “That’s cute. You’re off the hook, but just this once.” She narrowed her eyes at him before grinning.

“It’s not a date, MJ. He asked to study for calc, but it’s not a date.” 

“Right. Well, I wouldn’t have taken you to be interested in bad boys, but each to their own.” MJ ended the conversation by pulling out a book before Peter could answer.

“You’re going on a date with  _ Harley Keener _ ?” Ned questioned, just catching the tail end of Peter’s previous conversation.

“No! It’s  _ calculus _ ,” Peter insisted. He was  _ not  _ going on a date (despite his tiny tiny wish that it actually was a date).

“Dude, calculus is sexy. Guys dig calculus.” Ned joked, nudging Peter’s ribs with an elbow. 

“Calculus is  _ not _ sexy, and it doesn’t matter anyways because it’s not a date at all! He doesn’t even like me like that. Ned, he doesn’t even know me. It’s just calculus.” It was true; Harley asked Peter to study because he knew the most notable detail about Peter: unchallenged on the road to valedictorian of Midtown. Of course Harley would ask Peter to help him study, and he knew there was no way Peter could say no.

Even if Peter knew he would spend the whole time watching the way Harley played with the sleeve of his jacket and listening to his voice that melted him like butter, Harley would be granting his attention to calculus, not Peter.

“More like calcu _ lust _ .” MJ snorted without looking away from her book, ignoring Peter who let out a loud gasp and swung at her.

At the end of a torturously slow day of school (learning material that he’d taught himself the year before) Peter stood at his locker grabbing books to take home and replacing them with books to stay at school.

“Hey, you ready?” The way Harley leaned against the locker practically made Peter forget the chain rule.  _ Maybe Harley wasn’t going to be the one needing help with this material. _

“Yeah,” Peter breathed, his cheeks flushed, “ready.”

If Peter was surprised when Harley led him to an Audi, he was even more surprised when they both sat in the back, partition raised so he couldn’t see the driver. So much for cigarettes and motorcycles, Peter thought.

_ If Peter was surprised to see a chauffeur in the car, he was astounded when he realized where they were going _ .

“Would you mind keeping this between us?” Harley asked after seeing Peter’s shocked reaction, “I really don’t want people treating me differently because of this.” Peter nodded, all words escaping him. “Thanks, that means a lot.” Harley’s smile looked somewhat like the sun to Peter, like it would be spoiled if he looked too long but he just couldn’t turn away. He was mesmerized. 

Harley led Peter out of the car and through the elevator of the building: Stark Tower.

“Hey, kiddo, welcome home,”  _ Tony Stark  _ called casually across the room. He stopped short when he caught sight of Peter, “You’re studying today? Well, I’ll be in the lab if you need anything.”

“Thanks, dad.” Harley gestured for Peter to follow into his large bedroom before sitting on the floor.

“I hope this isn't weird or anything. At my old school some people got super weird about all of this.” Harley noted, pulling books out of his bag.

“Oh, no no, of course not.” Peter stated. He was shocked, but he wasn’t beyond his limits. Harley didn’t know how much time Peter had actually spent in the tower.

“I think it’s really cool.” Peter blurted out halfway through quotient rule.

“What?”

“I just think you’re cool and down to earth, I mean. Despite privilege you’re just a normal person and you want people to know that. Mr. Stark seems to understand that too.” Peter thought about the people he’d met who came from money, those who lost themselves to greed, and those who remained down to earth despite the opportunity to float away entirely.

“Oh, yeah.” Harley said, setting down his pencil, “I just like to keep it under wraps because I really don’t want people treating me differently, you know, because of where I come from. Sometimes people think that money separates them from others, but that’s really not it.”

“Yeah,” Peter smiled, turning back to his paper, “I, uh, I hate this formula.” He grinned quietly.

“Me too. Let’s come back to it.” Peter let out a full laugh at Harley’s words.

“Yeah, we’ll come back to that eventually.”

Now that Peter was fully aware of who was on the other side of the partition, the drive back to his own home felt a lot more strange.

“Thanks for helping me study today. Do you want to meet again on Saturday?” 

-

Two weeks passed with Peter going to the tower to study twice a week and, eventually, going to the tower to spend time with Harley on a third day where studying is off limits. Mr. Stark had insisted that he was welcome anytime, be it as Peter Parker or as Spider-Man.

“What do you know about Harley Keener?” Peter asked quietly, laying on the floor of his bedroom. He tossed a pencil into the air above his head, catching it with ease as it came back down to him.

“Why would I know about him?”

“I know you know him.” Peter sat up to look his friend in the eye.

“I thought he wasn’t telling anyone about his family.” Harry finally turned to face him before continuing, “Why? Do you like him?” He grinned.

“Stop it, we study math together. That’s it.”

“Oh, I know how you feel about math,” Harry began, “I’ve met him a few times. We text sometimes.”

“And?” Peter encouraged him to continue.

“You know him better than I do. Do you want me to ask him about you?”

“No! No, you don’t have to do that,” Peter answered quickly. What Harry didn’t tell Peter, though, was that he had texted Harley nearly every day for the past two years, and for the past few months, he’d been talking non-stop about the cute boy in his calculus class. (Harry was able to put two and two together pretty quickly. Fluffy brown hair, genius, more excited about math than any normal person? That’s Peter through and through.)

“Oh? You must like him?” Harry grinned at the other boy.

“No! I mean, I like him as a friend, of course. I think he’s nice, he’s really cool, and he likes to talk to me. But it’s really not like that at all. He just asked me to help him study.” Peter’s voice held a slow decrescendo as he stumbled through the messy sentences. It really wasn’t like that with Harley, whether he wanted it to be like that or not. Peter didn’t exactly have a ton of friends, he couldn’t lose one over his feelings.

Harry texted Harley.

-

“Wait, so like, a date?” Peter hadn’t meant for the words to come out, and regretted them instantly. All he could do was wait for Harley’s response like he was waiting for death.

“Yeah, like, a date. If that’s okay with you.”

So Peter changed his mind about waiting for death.

“Yes! I mean, yeah, of course.” Peter hardly heard anything over the feel of his own heartbeat. He felt like he could die happily (but not until after his  _ date _ ).

Harley was beginning to shove his math books into his bag when he looked back up at Peter from the floor of his bedroom. The way he smiled made Peter feel like he was becoming one with the air. (Holding hands with the atmosphere, cuddling the aura, kissing the ambience).

“We can skip one study session, right? God, we’ve been doing these for so long,” Harley groaned, combing his fingers through his golden locks.

“Sure, of course. I think we’re already okay for the final honestly,” Peter laughed.

The next two days lasted for a million years, no, a billion years. Talking to Harley during school, texting at home, he nearly lost his mind waiting for his  _ date _ . He was going on a  _ date _ with  _ Harley Keener-Stark _ . May asked him more than once why he was so restless, tapping on the dinner plate, pacing the kitchen at odd hours in the night.

On the day of their  _ date _ , Peter had three hours at home before he was meant to be picked up. 

“Seven o’ clock, meet me at my house,” Harley had told him with a wink as they left calculus together. Every minute, though, seemed to last an hour, so who could blame Peter for going out on patrol to pass the time quicker? It just so happened that the Green Goblin wanted to make his entrance at 6:45.  _ Peter could get it over with quick _ .

He rushed through a fight that, to be fair, could have been a lot quicker if Peter were careful, if Peter were focused.  _ As much as it felt like it, Harley Keener was not more important than the safety of the city. _

Peter took a knife to the abdomen at 7:15, he had Green Goblin webbed up by 7:20.

Blade still sticking out of his stomach ungracefully, he swung to the only place he knew he ought to go.  _ He swung to the place where he was supposed to be in the first place. _

He tore off his mask to breathe and kicked through a window that he was  _ so sure _ was the floor of the medbay. Apparently bleeding out affects a spider boy’s perception.

“Peter, what the hell? What’s going on?” Harley was rushing toward him, unable to decide between being frantic and cautious.   
“Get me to the medbay,” Peter barely choked out before looking Harley in the eye, “Can we reschedule our date?”

“We’ll have another one.” Harley wrapped an arm around Peter’s midsection and let Peter lean up against him as he led him down a floor.

They did eventually have their date on the day of the calculus final. (Harley took him to ice cream and they cuddled up on his couch to celebrate their one hundreds on the exam).

**Author's Note:**

> i was writing this while i still remembered math and then continued like two weeks later so the math jokes stop halfway through  
> join the [Parkner Discord](https://discord.gg/cxwUkVW) for server events, fic recommendations, writing help, and lots of cool people!!  
> comments make me happy so leave them pls


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